Joe Goldberg has had many objects of affection throughout the course of You. One specific character set the show on its way to success due to how layered she is: Guinevere Beck. Beck first caught Joe’s attention when she walked into the bookstore he works in, and unfortunately for Beck, Joe is swept off his feet. This soon unleashes a series of events that end the lives of many around Beck, and ultimately her own when Joe feels cornered for his actions. After Season One, Beck gained a mixed reception from fans; some found her compelling; others found her everything but a sympathetic character, glad that she met her demise to make way for Love Quinn in season two. Nevertheless – Joe found countless reasons to obsess over her. Here is why Guinevere Beck is so brilliant.
Vulnerable
Joe Goldberg is extremely attracted to people’s vulnerabilities: Beck has many. Beck is a struggling writer; she can barely afford her rent, and she is surrounded by shallow people. At first, Joe seems to have a genuine interest in Beck, but this interest quickly unwinds into something sinister when Joe follows Beck to her footstep before even formally introducing himself. Joe’s obsessive nature escalates tenfold, investigating Beck on social media and tracking her every step to infiltrate her relationships with family, friends, and her ex-boyfriend. Fortunately, Beck is a fictional character, and her vulnerability makes her more compelling to watch, especially when she’s dealing with difficult situations dealt by predatory people.
Complex
One of the most intriguing aspects of You is Joe’s love interests: they are complex. Beck herself is layer after layer of character development. On the surface, Beck is simply a struggling graduate student trying to get her big break as a writer–but Joe soon makes sure to discover every one of her secrets. From an abusive ex-boyfriend, a predatory graduate school advisor, an estranged father, and lastly, an unethical therapist –Beck is one bad relationship away from her breaking point. Beck’s life is nowhere near picture-esque, nor is she the perfect partner material. She isn’t the confident, quirky, and self-sufficient girlfriend Love present herself as before revealing her murderous nature, or season three’s selfless, cultured Marienne Bellamy: Beck is a troubled person going from one difficult moment to the next while trying to find herself.
Psychology “Lacking Male Figure”
Similarly to Joe, Beck is attracted to those resembling a parental figure. This stems back to her own strained relationship with her father. When Beck meets Joe, she tells him she’s an orphan, only for Joe to discover that her father is very much alive. After her father remarries, Beck sets considerable distance from him. Yet, many of Beck’s relationships with men provide substitutions for her lacking father figure. She blindly trusts her graduate school advisor until he shows romantic interest in her; she has a romantic relationship with her therapist, a man twice her age; and there are nurturing elements between her relationship with Joe that mimic those of a daughter-father dynamic. Beck subconsciously attaches herself to men who can, whether short or long term, fill the role her own father never has.
Social Class Struggles
Beck is an excellent social commentary on class systems. Many of Beck’s problems derive from her inner conflict with social class, specifically the upper class versus the lower class. In the last episode of season one, “Bluebeard’s Castle,” Beck hits a creative breakthrough while in captivity and writes a poem dedicated to every significant person in her life. From her academic peers, her social circle, and her romantic relationships, Beck expresses the oppression she’s felt since childhood. Her social circle represents the inferiority complex some people feel when comparing themselves to their friends or social media following.
Her best friend, Peach Salinger, represents how social stratification can turn a friendship into an abusive dynamic; Peach tends to Beck’s needs as long as she controls the friendship, a reflection of Peach’s view on the lower class and Beck’s inability to fight back. Mentors such as Beck’s academic advisor and her therapist represent established professionals using their careers to prey on vulnerable individuals. Beck’s ex-boyfriend, Benji, is a wealthy socialite using his wealth to belittle Beck throughout their relationship. Unlike Peach and Benji, Joe is of an equal social class as Beck: she sees him as her equal and therefore harmless. This common ground facilitates their relationship and Beck’s most dangerous life decision.
Relatable
Ultimately, Beck is brilliant because she is similar to so many people. Beck struggles in her career, and despite her strongest efforts, she can’t catch a break. Her friends are vapid socialites that only see her on the surface; her best friend’s unconditional love is driven by ulterior motives. Men objectify Beck relentlessly, and the only man who seems to show genuine affection towards her – is Joe Goldberg, a psychopath with a broken sense of reality. People fall victims to social pariahs every day: friends, lovers, mentors, and sometimes even family. Beck happens to be the extreme result of someone who doesn’t realize how dangerous those closest to her are until it’s too late.
